Beach Volleyball Heads to Birmingham for March to May Tournament

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 20 South Carolina beach volleyball hits the road to compete in the March to May Tournament in Birmingham, Ala., hosted by UAB. The Gamecocks, along with UAB, join Austin Peay and North Alabama to round out the competition field.

South Carolina begins play on Friday as they take on UAB at 11 a.m. and North Alabama at 3 p.m. On Saturday, the Gamecocks will face Austin Peay at 9 a.m. and UAB once again at 1 p.m.

Last time out, Carolina extended their win streak as they went undefeated at the Carolina Challenge at Wheeler Beach.

Rachel Hartmann, Brooke Balue, Jolie Cranford and Peyton Yamagata were the Gamecock pairs to go unbeaten. Hartmann and Balue are 8-4 from the first position and have clinched team wins five times this season, including vs. Charleston, Boise State and Jacksonville. Cranford and Yamagata are 10-2 overall and have consistently played from the third position all season long.

SCOUTING THE WEEKEND FIELD

UAB (9-8)

All-time Series: South Carolina leads 17-1

Last Meeting: The Gamecocks won, 3-2 (3/1/25)

Series Note: This will be the 18th overall meeting between the two programs. The Gamecocks have won the last 10 matchups.

NORTH ALABAMA (7-7)

All-time Series: South Carolina leads 1-0

Last Meeting: The Gamecocks won, 4-1 (3/4/2023)

Series Note: This will be just the second overall meeting between the schools with the lone matchup happening in 2023 at a neutral site.

AUSTIN PEAY (7-8)

All-time Series: South Carolina leads 11-2

Last Meeting: Gamecocks won, 5-0 (4/19/25)

Series Note: The two teams have already met this season, during the Wheeler Beach Bash, where South Carolina captured a 5-0 victory.